Batwa trail

The batwa trail is among the unique cultural experiences in Uganda that you should not miss out on as you take part in the Uganda safari. The trail is a tour around the batwa community an interested group of people that can be seen in both Uganda and Rwanda the batwa are a unique group of people with eye-catching features like their short eight and the fact that they used to live in the forests of Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park and some lived in volcanoes national park in Rwanda. the batwa trail can be embarked on in either Mgahinga national park or Bwindi impenetrable national park and this usually happens after your gorilla trekking experience in Uganda however the activity can be carried out on its own or as part of the cultural tours in Uganda.

Originally, the batwa inhabited the foot hills of the Virunga mountains in Uganda, and the dense forests of Bwindi Impenetrable national park where you will access the habituated gorilla families in Uganda. The batwa lived comfortably in the forests co-existing with the wildlife species and also depending on the forest products for survival. They were mainly hunters that hunted a number of animals in the parks like the squirrels, they gathered fruit, honey, used a number of plants and herbs like food and local medicine that cured a number of diseases and medical conditions like impotence, ring worm, colds and so many more.

With conservation efforts by the Uganda wildlife Authority and the need for sustainable tourism in the park and the country at large, the batwa were relocated from the park and were given land near the park and over the years, they have adapted to modernity where some of them have taken their children to school, they revolved from building grass thatched houses/ huts to building where you will get to see the modern architecture designs, they have now participate in petty jobs and some have been hired by the park as porters and rangers.

THE BATWA TRAIL EXPERIENCE IN UGANDA

 The batwa trail experience in Mgahinga National Park involves visiting the Muhabura cave where you will get to learn more about the former forest people and how they existed while depending on the forests. The batwa also known as the pygmies can be visited and observe how they carried out their daily activities in the forests, you will get to watch their amazing cultural dances, you will also get to watch their traditional dishes that you can also get to taste if you’re interested to live the authentic traditional experience and their unique cultures., you will also get to watch their traditional dances to understand more about their rewarding cultures as you visit the Ngarama cave. While you embark on the batwa trail you will have a number of stops, you will get to pick wild berries and get to taste them and get to feel and understand more about the olden days for a rewarding cultural experience in Uganda. The Ngarama cave is also notable for being the home to the batwa king who was the general overseer of the Batwa people that used to protect them against any external attacks among other royal duties.

There are a number of other activities that you can participate in while visiting the two national parks to make your safari quite memorable include gorilla habituation which will give you the chance to understand more about the behaviour of the gorillas as they get introduced to human presence for an amazing safari experience.

The activity will give you four hours with the gorillas which is quite different from that of the mountain gorilla trekking in Uganda which involves spending one hour with the gorillas observing their behaviour in the park the difference between gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation is the fact that you will get to spend one hour with the gorillas that are used to human presence which is not the same with gorilla habituation which will give you the opportunity to observe the authentic experiences of the gorillas observing the memorable experience in the park.

You can also participate in golden monkey trekking in Akagera national park to understand more about the Albertine endemic primate species for an amazing safari experience in the park and during your Uganda safari.